Young's Winter Warmer | Wells & Young's Ltd

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Pours a medium brown with some reddish hints with a nice creamy sticky head,aroma is of brown sugar and raisins with some Xmas spices in there pretty appetizing.Taste is kinda yeasty with some fruitcake spice flavors but not overly sweet.I like this beer more than others I like the holiday spice flavor that doesnt overpower.

This was not what I was expecting from a "Winter Warmer", but it was good nonetheless. It poured a dark mahogany color with a small head that remained as a thin layer of foam untill the last drop. The smell was very malty with a slight english hop smell to it and a touch of grain. I must say the smell did not excite me too much but the taste more than made up for it. As soon as it hit my mouth there was a very slight grainyness to it but that was soon overshadowed by a great semi sweet carmel like flavor. The finish had a touch of hops and a nice light sweetness, much more balanced than other english beers I've had. I can't say I'd have this one around all the time, but it is a good beer nonetheless.

Taste: Medium to full mouthfeel. Sweetness is super dextrinous. There's also an almost pear like fruity sweetness and coarseness in following. Actually it's very pear like in character, followed by a touch of caramel/toffee malt sweetness that doesn't last that long. Hop twang bitterness about midway through. Gets a bit bready/yeasty, then dry towards the finish. Hop is raw, leafy. More bready/yeasty flavours in the finish. Odd aftertaste.

Notes: Very English in taste, but not very impressive if compared to other Winter Warmers or Young's other brews. Yeasty all over, and not at all warming.

Slick and creamy mouth feel, lacking crispness and a medium body make it full on the palate. Quite malty with undertones of chocolate and toasted biscuit. Light handful of spicy hop with light esters and diacetyl in the back.

A decent ale, nothing earth shattering and a bit of a let down for a winter seasonal as it is not very warming.

Served out of a one pint+ bottle, this pours a muddy, deep brown with hues of orange throughout. Ivory head is quick to leave, and only spotty patches of lace remain. Aroma has toffee, molasses, and dark fruits. Bouquet is reminiscent of a doppelbock. Mouthfeel is malty, with good carbonation. Taste has a pleasant, malty dominance with plum and fig flavors. The malt is somewhat balanced with classic English hops and a hint of spicy bitterness. Finishes with a spicy maltiness, port wine undertones, and a spicy bitterness. An interesting variation of a fine British winter seasonal ale, that is a warming sipper on a snowy, February evening.

Pours dark amber with ruby hues, classic lacing. Bready/malt infused nose. Nice malty brew, Brit style all the way. Spicing kept to a minimum. Notes of some herbs and also alcohol. Maple syrup and more malt in the center. Sweet and satisfying-well crafted brew. Well worth a visit on a chilly winters eve.

Looks and pours like an old ale. A murky brunette with a short-lived off-white head. Aroma of nutmeg, caramel, and dust. Syrupy mouthfeel. Tasted like an old ale as well. Lots of caramel, wood, and metal. You know how a beer just keeps going downhill as you drink it? That's this beer.

Dark caramel color with some red highlights were the light sneaks through. Topped with a big fat, thick beige head that sits on top of the glass like whipped cream, and leaves thick lacing and rings around the glass as I drink. Aroma is low and malty. Mouthfeel is full and creamy, just the right amount of carbonation, with a substantial body. Flavor is not overly spicey, but has hints of many flavors like cinnamon and malt and caramel and fruit that morph into one indescribable flavor. Very enjoyable beer.

Darker mahogany brown, clearish in appearance. Head rises high on a medium pour, an inch in height for almost a minute. Laces in larger dots, some connecting. Aroma is highly malty and sugary, cinnamon and a slight brightness peeks out. Nice mouthfeel, medium thinnish but with a smooth and creamy texture. Caramel dominates the flavor, of a darker variety with almost a coconut-like quality to it. Hops are minimal without any impact on overall impression. Aftertaste is pleasant, just a touch of fruitiness. Nice composition and drinkable, hardly a Winter Warmer in any aspects, but OK when you're in a mood for a malty fix in an easy-going United Kingdom manner.

Appearance: Deep dark ruby amber builds a huge tan head atop the dark amber body leaves thick billowing lace bands. Aroma: Toffee finish is detectable in the nose with sweet plum layers and floral hop offerings, soild complex offering and I always thought winter warmers were high abv brews well this one will do it's job because it's very drinkable. Taste: Creamy chocolate like mix of malts dark roasts give it a nice full richness the fruit flavors that come through add to the festive attitude of the beer and the creamy finish is full of caramel malts blended with a piney hop finish. Mouthfeel: Medium bodied ale very full of flavor with a mild carbonation nothing is too much here. Drinkability: Excellent appetising ale from Young's rich flavors and perfect blend of the malts and hops adds to the pure ease of drinkability here.

From a bottle that has a best by date of 8/31/08 and poured into a Leffe Goblet glass.

A - A deep mahogany with gold hues barely notice. There is a clear and clean, almost reflective, look to the beer. Had a caramel colored head that formed at one inch before going away and sitting on the sides of the glass with a bit swirling around on top.

S - smells a bit like a Belgian dark ale at first as the first thing I got was the dark fruit esters such as plum and cherry. It is also mixed in with toffee as well. There is a slight hint of orange peel as well.

T - Have to say that I expected this to be a bit of a malt bomb but I was surprised to find that the sweeter malt flavors are just there instead of overpowering. At first, I get the sweet and fully biscuity flavors up front. Would say that it reminds me a bit like toffee as well and there are hints of brown sugar. After that, there is a hint of dark plum flavors before an big hint of orange peel comes up and that orange peel aspect is what sits on the back end. The orange peel flavor is a lot bigger in the taste than it is in the nose. There is a slight warming effect from the alcohol which is actually a bit surprising given that this beer is only 5%.

MF - light carbonation in the beer and has a body that is a bit lighter than I would like given the toffee flavor in the beer. This does make it easier to drink and could see this being a pint that one could drink on a winter night that was not too warm.

D - Overall this is an okay brew that I would reach for if I was at the pub in England on a late fall or mild winter day. It has some good flavor in it but nothing that would make me reach for it outside of that experience.

An impulse buy. It was one of the last of its kind at the local beverage center. A leathery brown color that is mostly murky. Its has a nice head with decent retention and nice lacing.

Smell is very mild and basically non-existent. So far this beer is starting to look and smell like nothing more then dirty water.

Well it tastes like beer. Despite what it looks and smells like it has an average taste. There is some sweetness and some slight malts but nothing pronounced. There is also no describable hop profile. I am no master brewer but I can tell this one doesn't match the style of a winter warmer.

On the positive side of things this beer is mellow and smooth. Despite the taste not adhering to the style of a winter warmer it is easy to drink and could easily be a session beer.

Mahogany pour with a medium tan head that becomes sticky lacing.
Aroma is amber malt with caramel and a little allspice.
Mouthfeel is extremely thin for this style....no...seems thin for any style.
Flavor is an inbalance of sweet amber malt and allspice that doesn't seem to fit anywhere and bitter citrus hops.
This one is just too strange to finish.
I love winter warmers....most all of them...but not this one.

16.9 oz. bottle into a pint glass. Best by 09/05/07, so let's see how it's help up, if at all.

Appearance: A nice darker amber, really dark amber, with moderate carbonation and a lighter mocha-colored head. Murky as hell upon the swirl and pour of yeast that was residing on the bottom.

Smell: Sweeter malt flavors and some spices, but it's really subdued, and I can't pick out a lot. Balanced and pleasant, but maybe both subdued and a bit muddled. Maybe due to the age?

Taste: A nice balance between good malt flavors and good bitterness, but I don't really get a lot as far as specifics. It's tasty and everything, but I'm not sure I'd have guessed this was a winter warmer had I not known. Maybe it's the age. Some lighter fruit with the malt and a bit of spices is all I get. Again, weirdly solid and easy to drink, but not a lot of complexity I can discern.

Mouthfeel: A bit thinner than I thought it would be, seemingly, but it still has moderate carbonation.

Drinkability: Not sure this one's meant to be consumed after the best-by date, as I enjoyed it, but the flavors were completely muted and subdued. Maybe that's just the beer, though? I'd be interested in trying a fresh bottle at this point; maybe age hurt it more than helped it.

Appearnce: a cloudy sort of amber color, very nice. The hazy body and color reminds me of a cider. No real head to mention and and small blobs of lacing.

Smell: could not gather to much about this beer. It does have a obvious spicey hopped smell. Caramel and candy with grainy malts.

Taste: I had to let it warm a bit to get a decent taste, otherwise not much going on. Small hop flavor and sweetness that puckers (like sour apples) Not much of winter warmer but has its moments. Malts become more and more obvious and give way to a toasty, roasted biscuit taste. I can taste a toffee flavor along with a little chocolate. Fairly smooth and easily drinkable.

Somewhat of a dissapointment for a winter warmer. Was hoping for much more.

Pours a dark red, looks brown in the shadows, nice highlights though. Dense, almost nitro, head that leaves fine lacings with staying power.

Smooth malt on the nose, good dose of caramel with a nice helping of dark fruit.

Dark fruit, dates, right up front. This gives way to a bit of roastiness that morphs into nice chocolate malt flavours which, in turn, give way to some straight forward toffee. Bog standard English malt all the way through. A good dry, slightly bitter finish, augmented with a bit of winterish spice, makes it a morish beer.

Smooth drinker, almost creamy, with good chewy malt.

Won't knock your socks off, certainly not as complex as some of the more contemporary takes on the style. However, it doesn't do anything particularly wrong, it's a nice malt showcase.

A - Brownish purple and slightly hazy brew with a foamy one finger head. Thick skeins of lace slide down the glass leaving trails of tan arcs.

S - Malty and roasty aromas. Chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Bready and a little bit coffee like in scent.

T - Huge wallop of flavor straight off! This stuff is like thick black bread in a glass! Chocolate, cake, bread, and chocolate cupcakes are the major flavors. Roasty grains add a great dimension to the sweet malt, and keep things from getting to sugary. A big dose of leafy grassy hops also helps in this department. This is an outstanding brew! Perfect balance for me.

M - Thick and chewy with a good sting of carbonation and a hoppy, leafy finish. Excellent. Residual sugars come back into play after the hops fade out. The finish and aftertaste last forever!

D - Perfect. I don't know if this should be called a winter warmer though. I think is is more refreshing and quenching than it is warming. Low alc. level only increases drinkability, and the mixture of bready malts, roasty grains, and high doses of hops combines all of my favorite things into one outstanding brew. Well done!

I remember that the first time I tried this beer I was geared-up expecting a rich, creamy maltiness... only to be let down. Now that I'm familiar with it I appreciate it more, but still tend to pass it by in lieu of more full bodied beers. That said... It pours a slightly hazy chestnut body that's capped by a decent sized, creamy, tan head that holds OK - but drops to a thin collar and whispy surface foam. The nose offers the standard fruity Young's character with notes of berries, raisins and plum above a mild caramel maltiness. The hops are restrained to the background in the aroma, but move forward in a flavor that's fruity and lightly caramelish - quite toffee-like - with a firm earthy & grassy hoppiness. It finishes dry with some softly lingering fruit and malt. Neither rich nor complex, but still an enjoyable pint at the local. As with almost all of the Young's products, it should really be served at close to cellar temperature to best perceive its maltiness and the interation of the yeast's fruitiness.

This bottle is a bit old. From the 2003 holiday season, the label says best before end of October 2004. Here we are in November, so maybe I should cut this one a little slack. Pours a dark caramel color with a small tan head. Aroma of roasted caramel malt and ale yeast, with slight hints of toffee and brown sugar. Mouthfeel is a tad thin for something that bills itself as a winter warmer. Palate is dominated by a strong roasted malt character, with notes of caramel and a touch of bitter hops. Bitterness lingers for a while. Though the first few sips didn't go down all that easily, after I got used to it, I could drink a good bit of this. Probably better when it's fresh.

Had a dusty, vintage bottle at the Farmhouse in Emmaus, PA. Aside from the dust and old green label, this is clearly a cellared, but well-aged beer. There's no strong newspaper or cardboard oxidation (thank god), but still a spicy, leathery character with hints of sherry. There were also pleasant notes of lemon and berry fruit. It was a complex beer, but the aged character was a bit heavy. Still, a very nice experience and tasty beer.

I may be alone here, but I think these previous reviews are off the mark; this pours to a nice brown amber red birch beer color; and has not much of a head.

There isn't much smell at all.

The taste is really something else. There is a snappy start, that gives way to a citrusy maltiness. There are no strong bittering hops, there is a big maltiness- but wait, the mouthfeel is smooth as butter an apple juice aftertaste. But man this has a super drinkability. Each sip reveals a bit of a different taste subtly packed within; some cinnamon, some faint clove; its there- you just have to find it.

There is a lack of alcohol here, but I'm sure you could drink enough to stay warm! This is worth a chance any time of year.